Friends, we did it - we reached our fundraising goal! With your support, 2022 is looking bright for thousands of kids in Filling in the Blanks' Weekend Meal Program. Since the pandemic began two years ago, our program has seen unprecedented demand as many families have endured new challenges. With record job losses and rising prices of food, the pandemic has made existing inequalities worse, and thrust many families into food insecurity for the very first time.
Economic recovery, and recovery from hunger, will take time. One day we hope our program is no longer needed, but until then FITB will keep working to reach as many kids as we can in Connecticut and New York.
With your help, Filling in the Blanks added 24 schools to our network in 2021, and you can now find our Weekend Meal Program in 85 locations! This means that 3,766 students can rely on our program every week for nutritious meals. You also helped us replace a meal delivery truck in our fleet, which will be crucial to our operations in 2022.
Filling in the Blanks expanded in new ways that will make our Weekend Meal Bags even better and more accessible in 2022. With our new home delivery option to schools where delivering meals in person became difficult, we were able to add more families into the program and ensure they had access to meals. Nine new food vendors are now a part of the Weekend Meal Program, which will increase the quantity and quality of food items in kids’ meal bags, and expand what we can offer this year.
All thanks to you, Filling in the Blanks expects to serve 775,000 meals in 2022 - more meals than we have ever expected to serve in a single year! This impact will be felt by every student, family member, and school staff we work with. From all of us in the Filling in the Blanks community, we are so grateful for your support. No matter the challenges that 2022 might bring, you have helped us remain a resource that families can rely on.
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